John Ridley working on new Batman mini

[J. D. Guy]

Not to mention, Tynion just started introducing Clownhunter and now Harper Row is coming back. We don't need even more sidekicks.

Clownhunter isn't a sidekick, though. Nor is he a partner or a protege. Nor is there any indication at present that he is being setup as sidekick/partner/protege material. I feel that that's kind of a poor read to assume so for whoever did.

That said, I wasn't aware Tynion was final planning on getting around to write Harper. Word had been that he was intending on doing so since his Detective Comics tenure, but never got around to it since it ended earlier than he had originally planned out for it to. Hope to see some substantial focus for Harper,. And Cullen, too, for that matter.

[J. D. Guy]

I don't mind a new Robin but I'd prefer something like Blindspot instead. He was a new character who Daredevil was mentored in the Charles Soule run. I thought it was a better way of introducing minority legacy or even just legacy characters in general. He even felt like a more focused take on Duke to me.

I love Blindspot! I haven't kept up with Daredevil post Soule's run, so I wonder if he still has a place there. No reason he shouldn't, other than typical writer shenanigans.

I would say, however, that Blindspot wasn't used or integrated as well as he could and even should have been. For starters, the "#0" issue that introduced Sam and the first issue proper was done such a way wherein most of the more "juicy" moments of early relationship growth and exploration between Blindspot and Daredevil were surreptitiously skipped over. And we never got much in the way of flashbacks of even references to what should be a very vivid and defining time between the two. This also meant that much of the active mentoring, including the relevant thoughts and feelings from both sides that they would inevitably have had and showed, are largely glossed over for most of their time together.

Another issue that could and should have been done better regarding Sam/Blindspot's integration would have been to have him present and accounted for much more than he was. It wasn't long into his run before I realized that Soule had a tendency to write Sam/Blindspot out of the story almost every time that Sam/Blindspot's character wasn't explicitly the focus of the story. That got kind of frustrating for me before too long. The early Daredevil/Punisher maxi series was an exception that wove and integrated Blindspot into its narrative, and was awesome for it. (I even recall how much I loved the artwork in that maxi!) That should have been done way more often. It should have been the norm rather than the exception. It was to a point where Sam/Blindspot spent just as much time away from the book than in it, and in truth more so. Sam being absent from both of Soule's Annuals was frustrating. Especially the first one that had the story where Daredevil paired up with another young hero I had never heard of and that we never saw again as far as I know.

As a bit of a corollary, Sam/Blindspot did a lot of cool stuff off-panel that really should have been on it. I felt that Daredevil/Matt should have been better integrated into Sam/Blindspot's stories than he was. Because of this, it took much longer to get a picture of who Sam was that was clear. (I distinctly recall how more than a couple of readers didn't have a hang on who Sam was and where he fell on the Hero's morality spectrum, to the degree they took a number of Soule's telegraphed fakeout beats seriously, and we're just sorta waiting for Sam/Blindspot to ultimately betray Daredevil for realsies)

This includes Sam's character progression and character development. I'm typically not one to tout "show, don't tell" as some kind of storytelling golden rule as is the trend to do, because assuming it must be followed at all times is actually narrow-minded and limiting to the kinds of stories and story-parts that can be told and considered "good" in the long-term. That said, Blindspot is a case where I'd argue it should have been followed. Too often did we learn Sam's insights and introspection regarding the things he's going through in hindsight via infodump after he had already went through them. This even extends towards Sam's younger sister Hannah. Sam's story should have been important enough that we got more of Hannah, who she was, how she felt about her brother on a more intricate level (and about their mother who focused on Sam's wellbeing as a motivation for everything she did), as well what the specifics were to her abrupt maturation (beyond the out-of-universe reason of Soule kinda remembering she was there, and that Sam was taking care of her before he and their mom left for China, and so as not to look like he forgot her completely, wrote Hannah as working at a fast-food joint as shorthand before moving on). Hannah's side of the story was worth telling. And I wished Sam/Blindspot's importance reflected that.


Now then, in my opinion, while I can see similarities between Sam and Duke, I feel they're fundamentally different enough that I wouldn't say Sam's beats were a more focused take of Duke's. For one, as I explained above, as much as I enjoyed it, Sam's focus could have been better and more consistent and more holistic than it was. But beyond that, as an example of their fundamental differences, while both are heroic and alturistic to their cores, I get the feeling that if Duke wasn't an only child and had a sibling, especially one as close in age to him as Hannah was to Sam, Duke would be closer to that sibling than Sam is to Hannah. In the least, I would see that Duke would definitely put in more explicit effort on his part, even if the hypothetical sibling was ornery or whatever. (Sam was a good brother obligatorily, including working to take care of Hannah financially, but generally wasn't shown to be close to Hannah as a sibling.)

So I say there's vast room for improvement for both of them. And in Sam's case, it doesn't help that he never appeared or branched out outside of Soule's Daredevil run and his Daredevil/Punisher maxi series. Which is bad. He had a lot of contemporary teen heroes he's never interacted with (including some really logical ones, like Joaquin Torres/The Falcon, who could relate to Sam's political and societal struggles, and Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider, who feels like a spiritual brother to Sam with how much they parallel one another). And if Sam/Blindspot doesn't have a relevant role in the current ongoing Daredevil run, all the good things Soule did do in bringing Sam/Blindspot into existence is functionally as if it never happened, or never mattered that it did.

[DragonPiece]

Clownhunter isn't a sidekick, though. Nor is he a partner or a protege. Nor is there any indication at present that he is being setup as sidekick/partner/protege material. I feel that that's kind of a poor read to assume so for whoever did.

That said, I wasn't aware Tynion was final planning on getting around to write Harper. Word had been that he was intending on doing so since his Detective Comics tenure, but never got around to it since it ended earlier than he had originally planned out for it to. Hope to see some substantial focus for Harper,. And Cullen, too, for that matter.

Bad wording in that, but Tynion keeps mentioning more plans for clown hunter..I have a hard time believing there will be nothing more to the character than just killing clowns in the future if Tynion wants to make him a main stay. That means eventually he’ll be working with Bruce or someone in the family in some capacity.

[Aahz]

If Ridley’s not writing about Luke, then there’s nothing new nor any news here. Just another Batman story. Same old, same old.

But if he is writing Luke, then there’s actually something to get excited about. It would honestly be a new story being told. It would be a not-already-huge-character getting a big-time writer and a major story around him. It’s a fresh take in a sea of stale stories.

Don't know, we have seen Bruce being replaced a few times, and I don't really feel like Luke brings much new to the table.
But maybe Ridley can put an interesting spin on it, we will see.

[J. D. Guy]

Bad wording in that, but Tynion keeps mentioning more plans for clown hunter..I have a hard time believing there will be nothing more to the character than just killing clowns in the future if Tynion wants to make him a main stay. That means eventually he’ll be working with Bruce or someone in the family in some capacity.

I don't have a problem with exploring Clownhunter beyond the initial circumstances of his origin. If it means adding more nuance to him and how he got to the point where the Joker War catalyst could make him become Clownhunter, then so much the better. And if doing so means that Harper (and ideally Duke and his We Are Robin crew, who really should be apart of this story, quite frankly) can become a narrative foil to Clownhunter and Clownhunter becomes a narrative foil to her (and them), then more power to Tynion.

Clownhunter's storyline will have more intellectual integrity from a literary standpoint if his narrative continued beyond Joker War. Because what becomes of the Clownhunter when the Joker War is over and there are no more Clowns left to Hunt is a story worth telling.

And as a relatable mention, I am not a fan of ascribing "Godspeed's Ultimate Fate" to new characters introduced into a story/arc once that story or arc is "finished". Williamson gave his justifications, but I don't agree with his decision to kill off August Heart and especially in the way he did for the reason he did. Godspeed ended up meaning and representing too much to go out the way he did, with much of his latent potential that was only ever hinted at remaining unexplored.

[J. D. Guy]

And unless his character progression takes a wide shift or enough time is actually given to his character to justify a read like sidekick/partner/protege, it is still highly unlikely that Clownhunter will become either of those, regardless of whatever capacity Clownhunter may find himself interacting with the other Bat-verse people in.

[Korath]

I don't have a problem with exploring Clownhunter beyond the initial circumstances of his origin. If it means adding more nuance to him and how he got to the point where the Joker War catalyst could make him become Clownhunter, then so much the better. And if doing so means that Harper (and ideally Duke and his We Are Robin crew, who really should be apart of this story, quite frankly) can become a narrative foil to Clownhunter and Clownhunter becomes a narrative foil to her (and them), then more power to Tynion.

Clownhunter's storyline will have more intellectual integrity from a literary standpoint if his narrative continued beyond Joker War. Because what becomes of the Clownhunter when the Joker War is over and there are no more Clowns left to Hunt is a story worth telling.

And as a relatable mention, I am not a fan of ascribing "Godspeed's Ultimate Fate" to new characters introduced into a story/arc once that story or arc is "finished". Williamson gave his justifications, but I don't agree with his decision to kill off August Heart and especially in the way he did for the reason he did. Godspeed ended up meaning and representing too much to go out the way he did, with much of his latent potential that was only ever hinted at remaining unexplored.

It'd definitively offer some really interesting beats. We know Batman hates killing, but here we have a killer who strictly select his victims among the worst kind of scum, those who join the Joker. I guess after the Joker War he'd branch out and defend the Narrows as a whole (which, considering that both Harper and Duke come from there, mean that they'd need to be involved with him in some capacity) and it'd at least force Batman to consider if getting ride of violent crime and perhaps allowing this deprived neighborhood to finally thrive is enough to counter-balance the actions of a murderous vigilante. Especially one who is bound to not share the somewhat cordial relationship Bats has with the Police force.

[batnbreakfast]

Clownhunter looks like a Rick Remender character and I'd probably enjoy him if Remender wrote him. Don't care for any boring sob-story Tynion cooks up for Clownhunter.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I love Blindspot! I haven't kept up with Daredevil post Soule's run, so I wonder if he still has a place there. No reason he shouldn't, other than typical writer shenanigans.

I would say, however, that Blindspot wasn't used or integrated as well as he could and even should have been. For starters, the "#0" issue that introduced Sam and the first issue proper was done such a way wherein most of the more "juicy" moments of early relationship growth and exploration between Blindspot and Daredevil were surreptitiously skipped over. And we never got much in the way of flashbacks of even references to what should be a very vivid and defining time between the two. This also meant that much of the active mentoring, including the relevant thoughts and feelings from both sides that they would inevitably have had and showed, are largely glossed over for most of their time together.

Another issue that could and should have been done better regarding Sam/Blindspot's integration would have been to have him present and accounted for much more than he was. It wasn't long into his run before I realized that Soule had a tendency to write Sam/Blindspot out of the story almost every time that Sam/Blindspot's character wasn't explicitly the focus of the story. That got kind of frustrating for me before too long. The early Daredevil/Punisher maxi series was an exception that wove and integrated Blindspot into its narrative, and was awesome for it. (I even recall how much I loved the artwork in that maxi!) That should have been done way more often. It should have been the norm rather than the exception. It was to a point where Sam/Blindspot spent just as much time away from the book than in it, and in truth more so. Sam being absent from both of Soule's Annuals was frustrating. Especially the first one that had the story where Daredevil paired up with another young hero I had never heard of and that we never saw again as far as I know.

As a bit of a corollary, Sam/Blindspot did a lot of cool stuff off-panel that really should have been on it. I felt that Daredevil/Matt should have been better integrated into Sam/Blindspot's stories than he was. Because of this, it took much longer to get a picture of who Sam was that was clear. (I distinctly recall how more than a couple of readers didn't have a hang on who Sam was and where he fell on the Hero's morality spectrum, to the degree they took a number of Soule's telegraphed fakeout beats seriously, and we're just sorta waiting for Sam/Blindspot to ultimately betray Daredevil for realsies)

This includes Sam's character progression and character development. I'm typically not one to tout "show, don't tell" as some kind of storytelling golden rule as is the trend to do, because assuming it must be followed at all times is actually narrow-minded and limiting to the kinds of stories and story-parts that can be told and considered "good" in the long-term. That said, Blindspot is a case where I'd argue it should have been followed. Too often did we learn Sam's insights and introspection regarding the things he's going through in hindsight via infodump after he had already went through them. This even extends towards Sam's younger sister Hannah. Sam's story should have been important enough that we got more of Hannah, who she was, how she felt about her brother on a more intricate level (and about their mother who focused on Sam's wellbeing as a motivation for everything she did), as well what the specifics were to her abrupt maturation (beyond the out-of-universe reason of Soule kinda remembering she was there, and that Sam was taking care of her before he and their mom left for China, and so as not to look like he forgot her completely, wrote Hannah as working at a fast-food joint as shorthand before moving on). Hannah's side of the story was worth telling. And I wished Sam/Blindspot's importance reflected that.


Now then, in my opinion, while I can see similarities between Sam and Duke, I feel they're fundamentally different enough that I wouldn't say Sam's beats were a more focused take of Duke's. For one, as I explained above, as much as I enjoyed it, Sam's focus could have been better and more consistent and more holistic than it was. But beyond that, as an example of their fundamental differences, while both are heroic and alturistic to their cores, I get the feeling that if Duke wasn't an only child and had a sibling, especially one as close in age to him as Hannah was to Sam, Duke would be closer to that sibling than Sam is to Hannah. In the least, I would see that Duke would definitely put in more explicit effort on his part, even if the hypothetical sibling was ornery or whatever. (Sam was a good brother obligatorily, including working to take care of Hannah financially, but generally wasn't shown to be close to Hannah as a sibling.)

So I say there's vast room for improvement for both of them. And in Sam's case, it doesn't help that he never appeared or branched out outside of Soule's Daredevil run and his Daredevil/Punisher maxi series. Which is bad. He had a lot of contemporary teen heroes he's never interacted with (including some really logical ones, like Joaquin Torres/The Falcon, who could relate to Sam's political and societal struggles, and Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider, who feels like a spiritual brother to Sam with how much they parallel one another). And if Sam/Blindspot doesn't have a relevant role in the current ongoing Daredevil run, all the good things Soule did do in bringing Sam/Blindspot into existence is functionally as if it never happened, or never mattered that it did.

To me, i just felt Sam's story wasn't as abrupt as Duke's. Sam mostly was in DD and got to have a beginning,Middle and end to that chapter of his life. So that's what i meant by focused.

Its a rumor that Clownhunter could be the new Robin but I'd prefer him working with Anarky. He'd be a great POV character for a potential Anarky title.

[DragonPiece]

Just in case anyone was wondering, the mini series will be announced the legacy of bat panel panel at 3:00pm according to Newsarama

[sifighter]

Just in case anyone was wondering, the mini series will be announced the legacy of bat panel at the legacy of the bat panel at 3:00pm according to Newsarama

Oh that’s interesting to hear, I expected it to be in the surprise panel but hey I’ll be sure to check it out.

[DragonPiece]

Ridley on Batman confirmed, January 2021. Ridley teases he is writing a batman of color and the Fox family will be heavily involved.

[sifighter]

I liked the cover art but I love more that Nick Derington will be on the art. Loved his Batman universe and Doom Patrol work.

A655771D-8E1A-468C-A01A-9353913CA5A6.jpg

[skyvolt2000]

Riddley on Batman confirmed, January 2021. Riddley teases he is writing a batman of color and the Fox family will be heavily involved.

Oh it's going to be a LONG 4 months......

Where is that fanboy tear cup at???? Even if he's in another reality, I prepare for the tears.

Now what guys of color cold it be if it's not Luke? Crispus Allen where are you????

[dornwolf]

Oh it's going to be a LONG 4 months......

Where is that fanboy tear cup at???? Even if he's in another reality, I prepare for the tears.

Now what guys of color cold it be if it's not Luke? Crispus Allen where are you????

Holy crap Crispus would be a fantastic idea.